tasmania, animal refuge center

tasmanian devil eating a piece of wallaby, the crunching of the bones was amazing. Keeper said their jaw strength is 4 times greater than that of a pit bull

cute guy

petting the koala

Morris the wombat

Emu

kangaroo everywhere

a kangaro joey

not long out of pouch

morris  and  the keeper

christopher petting wombat

back in hobart at botanical garden

Hobart bridge

at the refuge center

tasmanian devil

another

and another, they may look cute..

koala, wish I could do that

there were two koala who had been rescued

 We spent a great day just outside Hobart visiting a wonderful refuge center for animals. There are a lot of car accidents with animals in Tasmania and often some of these can be saved at this center. The wombat, Morris was an orphan after his mother was hit by a car, and came to the center when he was only weeks old. The tasmanian devils are on the verge of being extinguished, predictions are they will be wiped out by 2020 (think that was the year). This is being caused by a virus which causes a type of face cancer. They often, not maliciously, scratch one another's faces if one devil is eating and the other wants part of the food, and the disease can be spread this way. The center is now building a huge new area for the devils in the hopes of keeping them alive.  We learned a lot about Australian animals at this place, spending many hours in this small refuge. The keeper instructed the Australians that there were a few things they could do to help save injured animals. Rule number one was to always carry a pair of gloves in your car and if you hit an animal drag it off the road. This will prevent other animals from feeding on it which often then causes those animals to be hit. Secondly, this center operates 24/7and they will come to help any injured animal anytime.